23 June 2010

So, what happens next?

Now that the stack of papers on my desk is no longer waiting for me to work on it and is simply languishing quietly, it's almost time to figure out what comes next. Well, we've kind of done that part, but this is when it becomes not just what we'll do later, but what we are doing.

The thesis is finished. It's been printed and distributed to the three members of my thesis committee who are in the process of reading it and thinking of things to ask me at the oral defense scheduled for this Friday at 10. I'm trying to read their minds and prepare for whatever they might ask me, but it's a bit tricky since I'm not them. I feel semi-prepared, which is really all I think I can expect of myself, so I'm not too worried. I've gotten positive feedback on the paper so far and the defense is what it it. It'll happen, I'll do the best I can, and I'm 85% sure that it will be fine.

The immediate future involves revising and editing the seven short stories that will make up my creative portfolio. (I'm looking forward to this; revising creative work that has been sitting for a while is fun, or at least more fun than revising a thesis that I've been agonizing over for months.) Once that's done I'll have a master's degree! Yay! Then it's on to gainful employment. Right? Isn't that how this is supposed to work? Or is there an exception for a degree in something with as much practical usefulness as creative writing?

In any case, I've applied to substitute teach for the Columbia school district, which I think would be fun and a good use of my time, career-wise. I also plan to continue working from home doing tech writing and design work, so that'll keep me busy, too. And there is, of course, the novel. My poor protagonist has been waiting so long for me to return to her and she really does deserve some loving attention.

Steve's been looking into some very promising leads in the future restaurant department. I know I've romanticized the idea to a large extent, but it has gotten to the point where I feel like opening a restaurant is something that we need to do. Like it's our destiny or something equally grand and dramatic. I have not romanticized it to the point where I am ignoring how much work it will be, or how slim the odds of success are in the restaurant industry, but I honestly can't think of a better way for Steve and I to channel our energy and build our family's future.There are a few other things in the mix as well: I've been continuing to work with The Missouri Review; Matilda and Freya are enjoying their summer, playing and reading and watching Buffy; I am thinking about the possibility of teaching high school once we move back to Massachusetts (which, by the way, is on the agenda), and am looking at some certification programs; we are still figuring out if we'll be able to come east for a week or two this summer and will keep you updated on that; we will move out of this apartment in August and are not sure yet where exactly we will be moving into; and (I saved the best for last) there's been talk of adding a new member to our little family. No, I'm not pregnant. Yet. But the girls have signed off on the idea and the timing seems right. I know it sound crazy - especially given the fact that in the five and half years since Freya was born there has been no mention of the possibility at all - but it feel right. And who doesn't like babies?

So, I feel pretty good about what happens next. I don't know exactly what it will be, but that's part of the fun. While as many of you know, I do love a good Plan, I've also come to feel that too many details spoil the adventure of not-knowing. And where's the fun in that?